Egyptian Cat Goddess Bast and Spirituality in African Art
1. • Bast, the cat goddess.
- very ancient deity.
• Discuss the Egyptian
‘Spiritual Realm’
• Does stylization help
or hinder the concept of
spirituality???
• Discuss this sculpture
as a stylized spiritual
object. By looking at
the following features:
- Face, Ears,
- Clothing Drapery),
-
Body and Decoration.
2. Isis & Horus
• Cow horns
• Sun disk
• Horus = adult figure
• Uraeus = crown of the
reigning queen
• Bronze
• +/- 3000 BC
• NB! Mkhanya’s Portrait of Isis
3. Portrait of Isis 2003 (40cm x
60 cm) Oil pastels on
paper
‘The Unfolding Spirit’ exhibition
in 2003 at AAC
• What is the legend of Isis?
• How does this relate to
Makhanya’s view of women in
Africa?
• What is meant here by
‘spirituality’?
•How do you connect this to the
theme of the exhibition - ‘The
Unfolding Spirit’?
•What do you think Makhanya
feels about the ‘renaissance’ of
values in the African culture?
Issue 1 – Women in Africa
4. Issue 2 – Culture & Identity
Meaning of the images in an
African context.
• Black pots & the amadlozi?
• Decorative patterns?
• Hands on the spear?
• Hidden figure in/under Isis’
cloak?
• Hieroglyphic writing.
• The sun/moon.
• Are there repeated images &
patterns that have no meaning
but a different function?
5. Issue 3 – ‘Formal’ elements
i.e. - a formal analysis
NB! Remember – Makhanya has
a Western formal education,
but works in an African context
• Placement of shapes in an
illogical space.
• The expressive impact of this?
• Flattening of the picture plane.
• Function of shapes in dividing up
the format.
• Expressive use of colour?
• Technique
– layering of pastels
- scraping back to
underlying layers (‘sgraffito’)
- over-
working another layer on top
6. OR 2013 Sfiso kaMkame
SfisoK a-Mk ame
&
theSpiritu al Realm
Sfiso ka-Mkame was born at the
Marianhill Mission, (Pinetown)
7. ‘HOW PICTURES WERE
BORN’
– DVD on the spiritual
inspiration of art
Explain the essentially
‘spiritual’ nature of this
painting to a tour group
11. Analyse this painting by
Giotto under the following
headings:-
• Subject
matter/content
• Social & religious
context, including
patronage
• Composition
• Handling of form.
Modelling? Solidity?
• Emotional impact.
How? Why?
12. Botticelli, Venus and Mars,
c.1483, oil on panel, 69,2 x
173,4cm, National Gallery,
London
Botticelli
The Birth of Venus
Early Renaissance
Christianity versus the
Roman pantheon of gods.
13. Explain the following concepts by
using one of da Vinci’s paintings
to help your explanation.
You should use diagrams as
well.
1) Humanist intentions
2) His composition (diagram this)
3) Use of aerial perspective
(meaning?)
4) Use of linear perspective
(meaning?)
5) Use of sfumato (meaning?)
6) Use of foreshortening (meaning?)
7) chiaroscuro (meaning?) Leonardo da Vinci The Virgin & St Anne
1485 – ‘Quattrocento’ Renaissance
Leonardo da Vinci The Virgin & St Anne
1485 – ‘Quattrocento’ Renaissance
14. da Vinci Last Supper fresco
• linear perspective (1-point) - to single vanishing point
18. The Rape of Leucippus’
Daughters
Rubens 1616
BAROQUE
Woman Bathing
(Bathsheba?)
Rembrandt 1654
BAROQUE
Church patronage versus
merchant patronage - discuss
20. • copper statuette from India
• dancing woman from Mohenjo Daro.
• naked except for her jewelry
• Her pose is relaxed and quite jaunty,
showing a confidence and poise.
• great importance on the female form as
sacred and vital to the continuation of life.
• The cult of the mother goddess
occurred throughout the ancient world
and especially in India, Iran and the Near
East.
• figure is stylised, but conveys the
message of female beauty and power
effectively.
21. • holy shrines of Buddhism
• Yaksha
•Yakshas are air spirits who
inhabit trees.
• she is richly bejeweled and
richly fertile.
22. • theme of love is The Swing.
• The swing symbolises love,
and the dark clouds threatening
above symbolise desire.
• The swing is an ancient Indian
theme and is associated with
both love and with spring.
• Since ancient times the
Indians had held rituals that
involved swings.
